


The Unimaginable Light You Hold Inside

by perrywings



Series: Uneven Odds/Light Two-Shot [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fatherhood, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Inspired by Music, Keith is trans or has alien biology you pick, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Post-Canon, Proud Shiro, Slight Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:48:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23565583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perrywings/pseuds/perrywings
Summary: Part 2 of 2 in the Uneven Odds/Light Two-Shot. The two-shot itself is inspired by the songs Uneven Odds and Light by Sleeping At Last. Part 2 is inspired by Light, and the title and like half the song lyrics are taken from lyrics from Sleeping At Last.Slight AU (UA?) sequel to Uneven Odds set in Post-Canon where Keith is married to Matt Holt and their first child has just been born. Keith is nervous, but resolves to be a better parent than he ever got, and the Paladins visit Keith, Matt, and the baby at the hospital, and Shiro is so proud of Keith.
Relationships: Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Matt Holt & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Matt Holt/Keith
Series: Uneven Odds/Light Two-Shot [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696009
Kudos: 19





	The Unimaginable Light You Hold Inside

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus points if you find the MCU reference.

Keith had had around nine months to get used to the idea that he was about to be a father but he was still surprised that just a few hours ago he had given birth to the most beautiful baby boy in the universe. Labor had been possibly the worst thing he had ever experienced, but it was absolutely worth it. It was absolutely worth it now that Keith was holding his son in his arms. Keith and Matt had decided not to find out the sex of the baby beforehand, and no matter how much they would love any child of theirs, regardless of sex, Keith was still pleased that he had won the bet against Lance for the baby’s sex - Lance had been insistent their child would be a girl. And who knows, maybe, later on, they’d find out he was right all along, but right now Keith and Matt’s precious bundle of joy was a boy, and Keith was going to take that victory while he could.

His husband was currently out of the room, but he’d been at Keith’s side when he’d gone into labor and had forced the doctors and nurses to let him stay in the room during the birth to hold Keith’s hand and braid his hair out of his face. Matt hadn’t even let the nurses treat the bruises and cuts on his hand from Keith’s grip in a different room. He refused to take his eyes off his husband and his newborn son. He definitely hadn’t wanted to leave Keith before their friends had arrived, but Keith was starving, so Matt had agreed to go get him some food.

Of course, Keith couldn’t tear his eyes away from his son either. He was so tiny - Keith couldn’t believe babies really were that small, and he could only hope he wasn’t crushing the baby with how strong his arm muscles were. He was born with a full head of Matt’s thick blond hair and was very pale. He didn’t seem to have any visible Galra traits, but he was only a quarter Galra. Matt was still convinced he was going to have Keith’s eyes. Matt wanted all of their kids to have Keith’s eyes (it was going to be a LONG time before Keith was going to agree to have another one). He had ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes. He was perfectly healthy, and he was perfect.

And then he started crying.

Keith felt a wave of panic as his son started crying. He wasn’t prepared for this. He tried rocking his son, tapping his back gently. When it wasn’t quite enough, Keith gingerly got out of bed and started slowly walking around the hospital room.

Suddenly, unbidden, Keith remembered that song that made him cry so many times thanks to pregnancy hormones. It was kinda lullaby-like, it could work, right? Keith took a breath and started to sing softly. 

_“May these words be the first to find your ears_

_The world is brighter than the sun now that you're here_

_Though your eyes will need some time to adjust_

_To the overwhelming light surrounding us”_

The baby was calming down. His big bright eyes were staring up at Keith. They were shiny with tears, but also seemed utterly fascinated. Keith took this as a good sign and he kept singing as he continued his rotation around the room

_“I'll give you everything I have_

_I'll teach you everything I know_

_I promise I'll do better”_

God, Keith’s eyes were filling up with tears again for all the reasons they had before, except this time, with his son in his arms, they felt more real. This little one was going to have everything Keith never did. He was going to have two loving parents who weren’t going to let him grow up in a war and weren’t ever going to leave him. He was going to have a stable home and a family. Keith was going to make sure his baby had a better life.

_“I will always hold you close_

_But I will learn to let you go_

_I promise I'll do better”_

Keith was never going to let his son wonder about his family. He was going to know anything and everything, and he was going to know how much he was loved. Keith and Matt were going to raise him and prepare him for adulthood but still give him the childhood Keith never really got to have. Right now, Keith couldn’t imagine his newborn baby as anything else, but Keith knew he would be. 

_“I will soften every edge_

_I'll hold the world to its best_

_And I'll do better”_

Keith’s parents weren’t bad people, or even bad parents really, but war and death meant they weren’t there when Keith had needed them. That wasn’t going to be Keith as a parent. He was going to be better, no matter what. Nothing in this world was going to stop Keith from being the parent Keith himself had needed as a child.

_“With every heartbeat I have left_

_I will defend your every breath_

_And I'll do better”_

And if the universe was not kind to him once again, he would do whatever he had to to protect this baby. This baby who clung to Keith and Keith loved with every fiber of his being. As he turned, thinking of the next part of the song, he saw Matt in the doorway, takeout bag in his hand, watching Keith and the baby adoringly and lovingly. Keith couldn’t help but smile at him, even through the teary eyes.

Matt set the takeout bag on the table and quietly walked over to Keith. Ever so gently, he wrapped his arms around Keith and the baby. Matt pressed his forehead against Keith’s and whisper-sang,

_“Cause you are loved_

_You are loved more than you know_

_I hereby pledge all of my days_

_To prove it so_

_Though your heart is far too young to realize_

_The unimaginable light you hold inside”_

Keith didn’t know whether Matt was singing to him or to the baby, and he didn’t really care. He kissed his husband, happy and gentle and loving.

“I love you,” said Keith.

“I love you, too,” said Matt. “How are you doing?” Is he okay?”

“Oh, he’s fine, just got a little fussy,” said Keith.

“It’s a big change, maybe he’s like you and he doesn’t do well with change,” said Matt teasingly. “Or maybe he just missed his Daddy.”

Keith rolled his eyes and chuckled. “More like you missed him,” Keith teased. “You wanna hold him?”

Matt’s eyes lit up. “Gimme!”

Keith laughed. It wasn’t his first time holding his son, but Keith still helped Matt adjust so he was holding him properly. With Matt being taller and broader than Keith, their baby seemed even smaller.

Matt looked at the baby in his arms with reverence. “We did it, Keith. We made a baby.”

Keith smiled. “We did.”

“I mean, you did most of the work, growing him and bringing him into the world. I get, like, twelve percent of the credit,” said Matt.

“I did, didn’t I?” said Keith, proud.

Matt kissed Keith. “Thank you, so much. Did you decide on a name while I was gone?”

Keith beamed at Matt. “I did, but I wanted to make sure you liked it before I wrote it on the birth certificate.” He pulled up his phone and showed Matt.

Matt smiled. “I think it’s perfect. Go make it official and eat before your food gets cold.”

Keith sat down on the bed to fill out the birth certificate, and Matt sat next to him with the baby still in his arms. Keith smiled when he finished. “You’ve got a name, little one,” said Keith, gently kissing his baby’s forehead. 

It seemed Shiro was the first of the Paladins to arrive at the hospital. He’d been about to ask the front desk what room Keith was in when he saw Matt walking with a takeout bag and ran after him instead. But before he felt comfortable calling out to Matt, Matt had already arrived at his husband’s room. Shiro could just hear Keith singing as he approached, but he noticed Matt observing for a moment before going in, and he didn’t hear what Matt first said to Keith, but he didn’t strain to listen. Part of him was uncomfortable hanging around at all, since the moments between them felt private, but Shiro was so captivated by the scene he couldn’t turn away either.

His Keith was a father now, and he seemed so elated. Shiro couldn’t be prouder of Keith. A long time ago, Keith had said he’d never have any of this. And now he was celebrating a newborn son with a husband who loved him so much. They had survived this war, and they were healing from the war, and they found meaningful lives outside the violence. And Keith had hope and belief that he could do better for his family than his parents and even Shiro had been able to do for him. God, Shiro felt like crying. Keith had been dealt such a bad hand, but he’d been able to rise above it, and now he was filling out his first born’s birth certificate. Maybe there was some justice out there in this universe. And if Keith could do better than Shiro, then Shiro would be able to rest easy. Yeah, they were going to be okay, weren’t they? Keith and Matt were natural parents.

Shiro’s reflections were interrupted by the whirlwind known as Katie “Pidge” Holt. “I want to see my niece or nephew!!! - oh, sorry, Shiro,” Katie said as she nearly bowled Shiro over in her haste to enter the room.

“He’s right here,” said Matt. 

Pidge made a beeline for Matt and the baby. “Hi little one, I’m you’re Auntie Pidge,” she cooed in a soft whisper.

“Do you want to hold him?” Matt asked.

Pidge got starry-eyed, and Matt carefully maneuvered his son into his sister’s arms. Katie was just as enchanted as she was with alien technology. “Looks like you got the Holt hair, huh? Welcome to the family, tiny one. Guess I’m not the smallest anymore, huh?”

Shiro decided to prioritize the new parents while Pidge was absorbed with the new baby. Shiro hugged Keith first. “Hey Keith, how are you feeling? Any pain? I’ve heard labor isn’t exactly a walk in the park.”

Keith snorted. “Well, that’s the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard. But really, I’m okay. Besides, it was all worth it. Except, I’m seriously starving. No one warned me it was going to make me this hungry.”

“Then how about you actually eat what you asked me to bring you?” Matt suggested teasingly. 

Shiro let go so Keith could shove Matt, but he did almost immediately start eating.

Shiro then turned to hug Matt. “Congratulations, Keith, Matt, I’m so happy for you and proud of you both.”

Matt hugged him back tightly. “Thanks, Shiro, that means a lot to us.” Keith nodded beside him.

“Yeah, congratulations for getting such an angel, and thanks for my nephew,” Pidge piped up. “I’m going to teach him to play videogames and build robots and hack and I’m going to spoil him rotten and stuff him full of Hunk’s peanut butter cookies.”

“Pidge, please do not turn my child into a cyberterrorist,” said Keith between bites.

Just then, Hunk and Lance entered the room with their arms full. “We’re here! I brought cookies, but I didn’t know how I should decorate them so I just made them look like little Simbas and Nalas for the little lion!” said Hunk.

“And I brought gifts from Tio Lance!” said Lance. He had a half dozen balloons, a bouquet, and a large bag.

Meanwhile, Matt gasped. “The Lion King? How did I not think of that, that would have been the perfect theme for the nursery, I can’t believe I went for your sun idea!”

Keith shrugged. “But he’s my sunshine.” Then he grinned smugly at Lance. “It works because he’s my son.”

Lance gasped. “Little Kogane-Holt thwarted me!”

Hunk set down the tray of cookies. “Could I hold him?”

“Well, since his godmother got to him first, I think his godfather should hold him next, but you can hold him after Shiro,” said Matt.

Shiro’s jaw dropped. “Wait, I’m his godfather?”

“I mean, you don’t have to be if you don’t want to, but I picked Pidge, so Keith picked you,” said Matt.

“Of course I want to,” said Shiro firmly.

Katie carefully situated the baby in Shiro’s arms, grabbed one of Hunk’s cookies, and only then did she greet Keith and Matt.

But as soon as Shiro had that baby in his arms, the rest of the world faded out. The baby was so, so small and delicate. He was the most precious thing in the universe. He so very clearly had a mix of Matt’s and Keith’s features and he was just born. He was a treasure, a testament to the survival and now thriving of the Paladins and especially Matt and Keith.

Shiro only tuned back in when Lance asked, “So, have you picked a name for Little Mister Kogane-Holt?”

“We have,” said Keith.

“Well, Keith did,” said Matt.

“Well, what’s my new nephew’s name?” Lance asked.

Keith and Matt shared a secretive, excited look. “His name is Akira Takashi Kogane-Holt,” said Matt.

As Shiro tried to regain composure, remembering he still had the baby - Akira - in his arms, Keith added, “We decided to name him after my dads.”

Shiro’s world was shattered, but in a good way. He knew that Keith and himself were family, had called each other brothers, but Keith also saw him like that?

Shiro quickly passed Akira to Hunk and walked over to Keith and Matt. “You-” he tried, but he couldn’t get the words out.

“Yeah,” Keith said with a grin.

Shiro pulled Keith and Matt into a huge hug, and this time he couldn’t help the tears falling down his face. Maybe Keith was going to be better, but maybe Shiro hadn’t done as poorly as he thought with Keith.

“Thank you,” Shiro choked out as they parted.

“No, Shiro, thank you,” said Keith.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts on what happened after:
> 
> Akira did not stay a boy or turn out to be a girl later on, but rather ended up as both, being genderfluid. The sun-themed yellow nursery may have had some sort of effect though, because their favorite color has always been yellow, Tangled became their favorite Disney movie and they had a Tangled themed room in their youth, and they are a natural pilot. Pidge, however, did succeed in turning Akira into what Keith called a "cyberterrorist", as well as their siblings. Also, Akira got Keith's eyes, as Matt hoped.
> 
> Lance's bag of gifts included a plush for each of the Voltron Lions, a tiny onesie with the words "I have the best dads", and then a few knitted items Lance made himself - a tiny purple hat with the Blade of Marmora symbol that Keith knew Krolia would love, a knitted plush wolf that looked like Kosmo, another knitted cap that looked like a party hat and said "It's my birthday" which was immediately put on, and a baby blanket in gray with the words "You are my sunshine" in yellow, except the "O" in "You" was a sun. All of Lance's friends' kids got similar bags, but each had unique touches.
> 
> Keith and Matt's second child came early during the Allura Day festivities, so they tossed out the name they had planned and called her Scarlett Allura instead. Romelle and Lance were her godparents and Lance was pumped. He got the nursery done for them since they hadn't had it ready and it was princess themed, and Lance referred to her as "mi princesa". Scarlett Allura looked just like a mini Keith and had his temper and spunk but Matt's genius intellect. Although Scarlett loved her godmother, she idolized Pidge, and became a spaceship builder/mechanic.
> 
> Keith and Matt's third and final child got the Lion King themed nursery. Little Nathan Joshua looked just like Matt except for Keith's eyes (which was a bit of a disappointment for Keith since he was hoping at least one of their children would get Matt's eyes). Although it wasn't true, Katir was certain Nate had been named after her (but Joshua may have been a reference to Te'osh). Hunk and Shay were his godparents, and they were always so kind and gentle with him. Nathan grew up with a love for animals, and this transferred into later studying alien animal life, to Coran's utter joy.
> 
> Shiro adopted five children of various races/racial mixtures with Curtis, Hunk and Shay had a twin son and daughter and decided to stop there, and Lance and Pidge had son Alejandro, daughter June, and nonbinary child Aqua.


End file.
